Anthony Fowler, Dalton Smith added to July 6 Matchroom card

Matchroom’s July 6 card in Manchester is starting to fill out a bit more. The bill already has returns for Lawrence Okolie, Scott Fitzgerald, and Felix Cash announced, and now Anthony Fowler and Dalton Smith have been added to the bill.

Fowler (9-1, 8 KO) will be looking to bounce back from his March 30 loss to the aforementioned Scott Fitzgerald in Liverpool. That meeting of prospects slightly favored Fowler on paper, but he was dropped in the 10th round, which cost him what would have wound up a controversial majority draw.

For this fight, Fowler will be at middleweight, testing it out to see how he feels.

“I’m itching to get back out there,” said Fowler. “I had two weeks off and then I was straight back in the gym. I want that rematch badly. I’m just channeling all of the negative feelings that I’ve got into my training.

“I knew about this fight six weeks out, Dave weighed me and decided that I’ll be fighting at middleweight. I’m very big for light middle so I’m going to have a trial run at middleweight and see how I feel. I don’t struggle to make 154 pounds, but I’ll look a million dollars in sparring, feel strong and fit, and then on fight night I’ll feel flat. We’ll see how I get on but there’s still massive fights ahead for me at 154 pounds.”

Fowler, 28, admits he underestimated Fitzgerald earlier this year.

“I didn’t give Scott the credit he deserved heading into our fight. I genuinely thought it was going to be an easy night,” he said. “I went into the ring with the mentality that the fight would be easy and I paid the price dearly. It affected me mentally and my performance dropped massively because of that. I should have been more composed and calculated, I went in there trying to knock him out early. The second half of the fight really got to me because of that approach. I won’t be making that mistake again.”

Smith (1-0, 0 KO) made his pro debut on May 10 in Nottingham, winning on points over four rounds against Luka Leskovic, a veteran who knew how to handle Smith’s early aggression and avoid getting knocked out. The 22-year-old is a prospect to keep an eye on at 140.

“My debut went just as good as I could have imagined,” said Smith. “I had a long training camp and a lot of media stuff around it and it was down to me to perform on the night. I believe I went out there and put on a good performance. My pro debut is in the bag and those nerves and pressure around it will be gone. I think my second fight will be a lot more enjoyable and I’m looking forward to it.

“I’ve got full confidence in my abilities. I’ve boxed every style out there in the amateurs, so I knew if I stuck to my game plan and stayed calm then I’d perform. Obviously my debut was big, but fighting at Manchester Arena will be another box ticked for me. It’s one of the biggest indoor arenas there is and there’s some big names on the card. There’s a lot of history in that arena and I’ll create a bit of my own on July 6.”

Both Fowler and Smith will face opponents to be named.